


Snow

by bertererei



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Manga Spoiler, Musing, please suspend your disbelief
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-19
Updated: 2019-12-19
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:28:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21856048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bertererei/pseuds/bertererei
Summary: First snowfall outside the walls.
Relationships: Eren Yeager & Zeke
Comments: 19
Kudos: 284





	Snow

**Author's Note:**

> For the darling Boom for all the wonderful art you’ve shared with the world! I wanted it to be a longer work, but alas, this was all I could manage for now. But don't worry, I promise I have more Jaeger family fluff planned! Thank you so much for being a sweetheart! Seeing your art always brightens my day. ^^ Now then, let us fill the world with our love for Eren!
> 
> This is set sometime during Eren’s time in Liberio’s hospital. I can’t recall whether or not it snows within the walls, I’m going to assume it doesn’t. For the sake of this story, please just suspend your disbelief and go along with it!
> 
> Warning: Manga spoiler. Please suspend your disbelief. Fluff. Musing.
> 
> EDIT: Boom made a wonderful art to go along with this story! Please check it out [here](https://twitter.com/iloveerentoo/status/1210197222937128962) and shower them with love!
> 
> EDIT 2: The wonderful [vyusun](https://www.wattpad.com/user/vyusun) translated this story into Spanish on Wattpad found [here](https://www.wattpad.com/897598964-primera-nevada-eren-y-zeke-jaeger-parte-%C3%BAnica)! Please check it out!

Mikasa used to say that the world was too cold as she wrapped her scarf around herself tightly. If she was with him now, Eren wonders just how cold she will be. Or is that unfair of him to be thinking of the people he purposefully left behind? The coldness that she thought of back then is probably much different from the cold that he’s thinking of now.

“Aren’t you cold?” Zeke asks as he comes to sit on the other side of the bench, making sure to leave a gap of space between the two of them in case someone sees them.

“Freezing,” Eren admits.

His brother shoots him a worried look before glancing around them to check for privacy. Due to the frigid temperature, there isn’t anyone within their vicinity. But Eren won’t be shocked if people had a clear view of the two of them from the windows. Despite being outside of the walls, there are so many more restrictions to their freedom here. 

“What are you doing out here then? We should go inside.”

Although Eren understand where Zeke is coming from and why he sounds so worried, he can’t bring himself to agree. Instead, he finds himself staring up at the overcast sky. The gray clouds make the world look so dreary, but Eren can’t seem to feel down quite yet. 

“The doctors said it’ll snow.”

There’s a stunned pause as if Zeke didn’t expect such an answer. Then he lets out a soft chuckle as he follows Eren’s gaze up towards the sky.

“Yes, it does look like it. Do you like snowfall?”

It’s hard to answer that question. Is it possible to like something that you have yet to experience? His gut reaction is to say yes, he likes it very much. Because he’s seen the memories of snow tucked to the side in his dad’s memories. But those memories never focused on the snow. It’s possible that when Grisha was younger, he enjoyed playing in the snow as some of the memories imply the neighborhood kids did. But those are not the memories that Eren received, so he’s hard-pressed to know what exactly how enjoyable snow is.

But he had always looked forward to it. Experiencing the world outside the walls with Armin and Mikasa by his side. Going to the land of ice where it must snow every day. He had no idea what to expect when he got there, but that just added to the charm of it all. An adventure to the unknown once all the titans have been defeated and the rest of the world claimed as their playground.

But that’s something that can never come true now.

Not really knowing how to answer, he finds himself shrugging. “It never snowed within… where I’m from.”

He catches himself, even though he’s sure that there’s no one else around. He doesn’t want to get into a bad habit. It’s better safe than sorry, right? From the soft expression on Zeke’s face, Eren thinks that was the right call.

“I see. So this will be the first snowfall of the year and also your first time seeing snow.”

That catches Eren’s interest. “Is it important that it’s the first snowfall of the year?”

“That depends on the person asking, I suppose. I personally find it rather romantic to watch the first snowfall of the year with someone you love. Is there anyone that comes to mind when I said that?”

Of course, there is. Not that Eren would admit that out loud. It’s embarrassing as it is that Zeke seems to be teasing him. Does he playfully say things like that to the other Warriors, too? Or is this something that only Eren gets as his little brother? Eren isn’t sure which he prefers. 

“What about you? I can’t imagine the great War Chief having anyone special like that,” Eren says casually.

Zeke chuckles, seemingly taking such insulting words in good stride. “I wonder who I could possibly be thinking of.”

Eren decides against prying. He gets the feeling that his brother will have more fun spinning him around in circles than giving a straight answer. That’s fine. Getting to know Zeke on that level might end up becoming more painful for them both in the long run.

He breaths out slowly, fascinated by the puff of white cloud that fills the space before him. This much isn’t new. But it’s always fun to see the small similarities out here as back home. It also feels like the white cloud is much denser here. Is it because it's colder? If Eren couldn't heal himself, would he have to worry about frostbites?

“Do you want me to lend you my scarf?” Zeke asks, snapping Eren out of his thoughts.

A scarf alone isn’t going to be enough to fend off the cold. But he supposes it’s a good start. 

“Yeah. Uh… please?”

Zeke moves from his end of the bench to right by Eren’s side. He takes off his scarf and wraps it around Eren, making sure to cover Eren’s nose and ears the best he can. It's far sweeter than Eren would've been. Amazing. Zeke was able to wrap Eren up this warmly without making any kind of skin contact. The best Eren could manage was when he was nine and he carelessly threw his scarf more so than wrapped it around Mikasa. He wonders if he would be able to wrap scarves better now. Perhaps he should ask Falco to stand still next time to try.

Once finished, Zeke grins satisfied and settles down next to Eren. It’s not close enough to be seem like they’re overly familiar. But it is close enough that Eren can feel his brother’s body heat. But now Eren is overly aware of how cold his other side is. It would be much easier if they could just sit huddled together without any fear of being reported or accidental contact. But that's not something they can afford. Not after coming this far.

“Your scarf smells like cigarettes,” Eren mumbles.

“Oh, you don't like cigarettes?”

Eren shrugs. It’s not quite that he doesn’t like cigarettes or the smell of it. He thinks it’s probably more to do with what he associates with it. The people who smoked within the walls were those with too much time on their hands (like Hannes and the other Garrison members before Wall Maria fell) or those with more power and wealth than they would ever deserve. He feels like he’s smelled it more since he came to Marley, though. There’s a certain bit of… _stink_ in the air. But that might just be a combination of all the machinery smog.

“I see…” Zeke lets out a puff of air that might be a chuckle. Eren can’t help but be distracted by the white cloud that appears. “So that’s the kind of person you are.”

Really? He can tell with just this little? Or has Eren been giving away more than he realized? He thought he’s gotten better at concealing how he felt since his friends didn’t seem to notice anything. Perhaps Zeke is much sharper than he realized? Then has he noticed? What Eren is planning? What will doubtlessly be in store for them? The tragedy awaiting with its arms stretched towards them?

“I don’t think I cared much about snow until I was a bit older,” Zeke says lightly.

Eren turns to him as a silent motion for his brother to continue.

“It’s a bit backwards, I believe. Most people care for snow when they’re little because they can play in it. But it got in the way of playing catch for me. The worst was when the snow would reflect the sun back into your eyes and you’d end up blinded for a bit. I absolutely hated missing the ball because of that.”

“Then how did you end up liking it?” Eren asks.

Zeke lowers his head so that his eyes are hooded by his glasses. “I lost my partner to play catch with.”

“That’s a rather morbid reason.”

“It is, isn’t it?” Zeke asks, chuckling. “But I imagine everyone has something like that. Something unexpected that makes them appreciate something they used to dislike.”

Eren supposes Jean would count in that for him. But he’s a little hard-pressed to pick something unexpected that made him appreciate Jean. Maybe that’s just what happens with time and maturity. Or perhaps it’s more to do with just how many of their own that they lost? There’s nothing wrong with treasuring the people who are left alive, is there? Especially after the betrayal that was Reiner and Bertolt and Annie.

“I’m surprised you didn’t play catch with the other Warriors,” Eren says.

“Colt indulges me now and then. But alas, he’s not really into it. I think I make him nervous. If I had a cute little brother, I’d definitely take him out to play catch all the time.”

That’s a rather loaded statement. Eren smiles despite himself.

“If I had an older brother who kept trying to make me play catch, I’m sure I’d end up hating it,” he says lightly.

The stern expression he has on his face becomes completely ruined when he sees the exaggerated despair on Zeke’s. How can the great War Chief of the Warriors be such a dork?

“I’m kidding,” he assures his brother. “If I had a brother like that, I’m sure I’d end up grudgingly liking catch, even if I outwardly said I hated it.”

He wonders if Zeke ever thought about it himself. What life might have been like if they had grown up together. If it had turned out that Eren was born outside of the walls, would Zeke truly have doted on him? Would Eren have been receptive towards that? Would they have had that picture perfect family life? Or, more likely, would Eren have craved the freedom of seeing what’s beyond the walls to sit still? Would he have torn off the armband the first chance he got and ran?

Would he have brought nothing but sadness to the family that have already lost so much?

“I think I wouldn’t mind spoiling a little brother like that,” Zeke muses.

Eren wonders just what Zeke sees when he looks at Eren. Because it's most definitely not the worthless man who has abandoned everything he loves in hopes of protecting them.

“It’ll be tiring,” he warns. “That kind of little brothers is nothing but a pain.”

Mikasa would be able to tell Zeke all about it. Probably starting with when they were little and go on and on about all the little trouble that Eren has caused her. He bets that Armin would help her, too. They would finally be able to air out all the grievances they've ever held for him, even though they'll both work hard to make sure that Zeke understands that they still love Eren. Despite that? In spite of that? No, no. None of those words are quite right. 

_“If I could just lock him up somewhere, things would be much simpler,”_ she’d probably say, purposefully ignoring the panicked look on Armin’s face in the meanwhile. 

“I’m up for a challenge,” Zeke claims.

And just a bit, Eren wonders what that kind of life would have been like. 

If Zeke had been within the walls with Eren and Mikasa, what kind of a family would they have been? Would Zeke have tried to teach both of them how to play catch? Would Zeke have been the doting older brother that he claims he would be? Would he have stood against Eren as everyone but Grisha did at Eren’s decision to join the Survey Corps? Would Zeke have preferred Mikasa or Eren? Would Zeke have joined the military? Or perhaps he would have followed Grisha's footsteps to become a doctor?

How badly would they have splintered when the walls came crumbling down?

“The challenge isn’t worth it,” Eren decides.

Zeke looks saddened by those words. Saddened but not shocked. Did he also wonder what kind of life they might have had if they had grown up together? Did he also see the tragedy that is doubtlessly waiting for them, no matter which path life puts them on? The fate of all Jaegers, Eren thinks humorlessly.

“Oh, it’s started.”

Eren follows Zeke’s line of sight up to the sky. It takes him a second to see what his brother is talking about. But then it clicks.

Snow is such a fragile looking thing. They’re blown away by the simplest of breaths. And when Eren finally manages to catch one, it disappears much too fast for him to examine it. But those that land on Zeke’s scarf lasts for a bit longer, given that Eren doesn’t accidentally breath on it. How do these fragile and tiny things become blocks of ice? Eren doesn’t understand. Maybe if he had brought Armin here, he would have been able to explain it. Maybe if Mikasa was here, she would have fussed over him so that he didn't feel like he's about to fall over from how cold it is. If Jean was here, Connie, Sasha… If everyone was here, would they have felt this elated as he does now? Would this feeling of impending doom in his chest ease even just a bit?

“It’s so small.”

Zeke chuckles at the fascination in Eren’s voice. “Yet quite deadly when gathered together.”

“Deadly? Snow is?”

“Oh, that’s right. You’ve never seen snow before, right? But when it starts to snow, it hides the ice on the street. So if you’re not careful where you’re walking, you can end up slipping and breaking a tail bone. And when the snow piles too much, the roof of some of the older buildings can cave in. That’s not talking of the low visibility once the snow starts picking up or freezing to death by staying outside.”

With those words, Zeke stands up and holds his hand out for Eren to take. Then he must have realized what that could potentially mean and bashfully pulls his hand back. Eren is touched at the gesture, though. But he isn’t sure if his younger self wouldn’t have taken shameless advantage of such kindness. Perhaps it is a good thing that they met after they’ve both had time to mature. 

Eren stands up, using his crutch to balance himself. He then motions for his brother to lead the way to the hospital.

“Hey, do you have any fun snow stories? I’d love to hear them.”

They should both realize just what kind of a future stands before them. Just what kind of atrocities they must commit, what kind of heartache they must inflict. What kind of betrayal awaits them.

But for now, Eren feels content at the sight of delight in Zeke’s eyes as he joyously launches into a tale of his past. 

He hopes that until that moment comes, he can help Zeke ease his loneliness, too.

_Fin._


End file.
